From March 2024 Mitsubishi Motors Australia Limited (MMAL) will become the naming rights sponsor of the National Basketball League’s (NBL), NBL1 season.
Following its decade long sponsorship of the basketball league in the 1990s, MMAL returned earlier this year, when it became the official vehicle partner and major sponsor for NBL.
The car manufacturer will now carry the naming rights into the competition consisting of NBL1 North, East, South, West, and Central.
“Together with our major partnership of the NBL, this announcement signals our commitment to basketball at both community and professional levels in Australia,” MMAL chief executive Shaun Westcott says.
“This is a national partnership, with NBL1 teams in every state and territory. We hope to connect the 74 NBL1 clubs with our more than 200 national dealers to further support and promote basketball in this country,” he says.
“Having Mitsubishi Motors Australia make a bigger commitment to our competition and the sport of basketball is a massive vote of confidence in the league,” NBL chief executive David Stevenson says.
“Last season NBL1 reached more than 66 million people via our digital and social platforms, with more than 41 million minutes watched. This showcases the ever-growing platform NBL1 has become,”
The NBL1 and NBL partnerships will offer MMAL brand exposure with court signage around the country, in-game broadcasting, game day activations and consumer engagement on and off the court.
MMAL promotional teams will be on the ground at selected NBL home games, giving out red foam hands to help fans celebrate throughout the game. QR codes on the foam hands will allow fans to enter their details for a chance to win weekly prizes and be in the running for the NBL end-of-season draw prize – a Mitsubishi Pajero Sport GSR.
Digital screens will showcase content on ‘How to shoot a 3-pointer’ and a bespoke Pajero Sport TVC will air in the arena before every game.
The Mitsubishi Motors NBL1 is the semi-professional basketball league in Australia, consisting of 74 clubs and 145 teams. For many players, the competition is a stepping stone to playing in the NBL, as well as the NBA, with many NBL players also returning to their local NBL1 clubs to play in the NBL offseason.
The Mitsubishi Motors NBL1 season commences March 24, 2024 in Adelaide and will run through the NBL offseason, between March and September. There are more than 1500 games planned throughout the season, to be played across the country.
Basketball in Australia has more than 1.1 million registered players, and is a top ten sport in the country, according to the Australian Sports Commission.
